This invention relates generally to testing of radar systems, and more specifically to a radar testing system which is capable of synchronizing radar data with global positioning satellite (GPS) data and digital elevation map (DEM) data to determine an accuracy of the radar.
The proper navigation of an aircraft in all phases of its flight is based to a large extent upon the ability to determine the terrain and position over which the aircraft is passing. In this regard, instrumentation, such as radar systems, and altimeters in combination with the use of accurate electronic terrain maps, which provide the height of objects on a map, aid in the flight path of the aircraft. Electronic terrain maps are well known and are presently used to assist in the navigation of aircraft.
Pulse radar altimeters demonstrate superior altitude accuracy due to their inherent leading edge return signal tracking capability. The pulse radar altimeter transmits a pulse of radio frequency (RF) energy, and a return echo is received and tracked using a tracking system. The interval of time between signal bursts of a radar system is called the pulse repetition interval (PRI). The frequency of bursts is called the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and is the reciprocal of PRI.
FIG. 1 shows an aircraft 2 with the Doppler effect illustrated by isodops as a result of selection by the use of Doppler filters. The area between the isodops of the Doppler configuration will be referred to as swaths. The Doppler filter, and resulting isodops are well known in this area of technology and will not be explained in any further detail. Further, the aircraft 2 in the specification will be assumed to have a vertical velocity of zero. As is known, if a vertical velocity exists, the median 8 of the Doppler effect will shift depending on the vertical velocity. If the aircraft 2 has a vertical velocity in a downward direction, the median of the Doppler would shift to the right of the Figure. If the aircraft 2 has a vertical velocity in an upward direction, the Doppler would shift to the left of the Figure. Again, it will be assumed in the entirety of the specification that the vertical velocity is zero for the ease of description. However, it is known that a vertical velocity almost always exists.
Radar illuminates a ground patch bounded by the antenna beam 10 from an aircraft 2. FIG. 1 a shows a top view of the beam 10 along with the Doppler effect and FIG. 1b shows the transmission of the beam 10 from a side view. To scan a particular area, range gates are used to further partition the swath created by the Doppler filter. To scan a certain Doppler swath, many radar range gates operate in parallel. With the range to each partitioned area determined, a record is generated representing the contour of the terrain below the flight path. The electronic maps are used with the contour recording to determine the aircraft""s position on the electronic map. This system is extremely complex with all the components involved as well as the number of multiple range gates that are required to cover a terrain area. As a result, the computations required for this system are very extensive.
In addition to the complexity, the precision and accuracy of the distance to a particular ground area or object has never been attained using an airborne radar processor.
In one aspect, a method for testing a radar system utilizing flight test radar data is provided. The method comprises time synchronizing measured radar data with a GPS based time marker, storing at least a portion of the time synchronized radar data, and storing the GPS data. The method further comprises processing the stored GPS data to correspond with a physical position of an antenna which received the radar data, providing a radar model and comparing the processed radar model data to the stored radar data.
In another aspect, a radar data recording and processing system is provided. The system comprises an aircraft GPS which is configured to provide at least one time mark signal and at least one timing count signal, a memory device, and a data formatter. The data formatter is configured to digitize samples of radar data, time synchronize the digitized radar data with GPS data using the time mark signal and the timing count signal, generate control words relating to the radar data, the time mark signal, and the timing count signal, and place the controls words and radar data in a data stream for storage in said memory device.